WEBVTT Kind: captions; Language: en

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[...]

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It is early morning of the
first Tuesday in November.

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This is an American city.
A city that is not very large, not very

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rich, not very old.

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It is situated in the western
part of the United States, in

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California. Its name is Riveton.

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The woman in the car is Mrs. Dawson,
one of Riveton's 15,000 residents. She is

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principal of public school number two.

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But today there will be no classes held here.
For this is election day.

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This classroom is one of the 130,000
places the country over in which American

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citizens are going to cast their votes today.

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This is the table where the voters'
names will be checked. The locked ballot box

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and the polling booth.

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Here it is in the privacy of this curtain
space, at the American voters every

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four years,
on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in

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November, choose their national government.

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Here come Mrs. Dawson's colleagues on
the election board of Riveton's seventh

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precinct, each representing one
of the major political parties.

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Mr. Schwartz is a Republican who works
for the streetcar company. Mrs. Abernathy

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is a housewife and a Democrat. Mrs. Dawson is

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chairman.
They've all known one another for years.

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First they remove the last traces of
their campaign activities, their party

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buttons. Then they take the oath.

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You're supposed to defend the Constitution
of the United States of America, form

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your duties as members of the election board.

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Best of your ability, some help you've got.

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I do.

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I do.

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This makes them responsible for seeing
that the voting here today takes place

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according to the laws of the land.
And now the polls are open.

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Here comes the first voter.

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No wonder he's first. He's been up
since four o'clock delivering milk.

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Good morning, everybody.

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Half-life, you're the very first one,
right on the dock.

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Always like to vote early,
give the Republicans a temporary lead.

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Here's your dollar, Joe.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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That's as far as we can go.
Remember, this is a secret vote. No one ever

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sees another person mark his ballot.

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However, if we did have miraculous powers,
and if we were able just this once to

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follow Bill Johnson, this is what we'd see.

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He votes first for the chief executives,
the president and

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vice president of the United States.

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Next, he votes for a senator from his state,

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then a representative from his district.

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This man is casting his vote for a
government of his own choosing under the

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Constitution of the United States.

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This is the way it's set up.

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There are three branches of
the United States government.

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The executive branch or president,
the legislative branch or Congress, and the

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judicial branch or Supreme Court.

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The duties of each branch are
established in the Constitution.

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Let's see how they work.

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The president is the
executive head of the nation.

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He initiates all important policies,
such as treaties with other governments

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and the conduct of national affairs.

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He is the commander in chief of the
army and the navy, an important

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consideration in a wartime election.

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The vice president is the
president's legal successor.

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The president keeps him informed
on matters of state and policy.

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The vice president, by custom,
sits as a member of the president's cabinet.

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The cabinet members are the heads of the
executive departments of the government,

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such as the state department, war department,
treasury department, department of

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the interior of labor, commerce, and so on.

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The cabinet advises the
president on matters of policy.

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The powers of the president and his helpers
are limited, for this is a government

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not of men,
but of laws based upon the Constitution.

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Congress makes the laws.

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It is a parliament which, unlike many
democratic parliaments, has no direct

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connection with the executive branch.

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This branch of the government is
made up of two houses, the Senate

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and the House of Representatives.

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A law may originate in either house,
but must be approved by both of them.

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When a bill is passed by both houses,
it is sent to the president.

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If the president also approves the bill,
he signs it. It then becomes law.

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The president may veto a
bill passed by the Congress.

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But Congress may still,
by a two-thirds majority, make the bill law.

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Although the cheap responsibility of
Congress is that of making laws, certain

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other responsibilities are
delegated to the two houses.

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In the Senate, or upper house as it is called,
each of the 48 states in the

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nation is represented by two elected members,
making a total membership of 96.

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Small states and large have equal
representation in the Senate.

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The Senate has two important functions,
aside from its lawmaking duties.

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To pass on important presidential appointments,
and to approve or reject all

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treaties with other nations
initiated by the president.

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When a treaty is under consideration,
the members of the Senate express their

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opinions, either of approval or of disapproval,
and then a vote is taken.

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If two-thirds of the Senate approves
of the treaty, it is in effect.

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In the House of Representatives,
or lower house, each of the 48 states is

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represented in proportion to its population.

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The more populous of the states
have the greater number of

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members in the House of Representatives.

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All measures dealing with the appropriation
of money for the nation's use

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originate at our control in the lower house.

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The money appropriated is turned over
to the president for expenditure.

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And the president, with the aid of the cabinet,
spends the money in the manner

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decided upon by the Congress,
whether it be for purposes of peace or of war.

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Although the Congress of the United States
makes the laws of the land, its powers

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are also limited by the Constitution.

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As a check on both executive and legislative
branches of the government, there is

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a third branch, the judicial.

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The Supreme Court, whose members are
appointed for life by the president.

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The Supreme Court protects the Constitution
from violation by congressional laws

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or executive orders.

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The three branches, executive,
legislative, and judicial, each

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with some power, none with all the power,
check and balance each other in the

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manner intended by the
framers of the Constitution.

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And that the ultimate power rests always
in the hands of the voter, Bill Johnson.

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Having voted for a federal government,
he must also choose a governor for his

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statement, members of the state assembly,
county judges, all the minor offices,

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and various legislative amendments.

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When Bill Johnson has finished,
he has elected an entire government from top to

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bottom. That is, if a majority of the
voters think the way he does about it.

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It's not only here in Riveton that the
voting is heavy today. All over the

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country,
people are conscious of the momentous issues

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facing their nation and the world.

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This is their way of expressing their
conviction of how and by whom these

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issues should be met.

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The two major

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presidential candidates vote like all the
other citizens. One of them in New York

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City describes himself as a lawyer.

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The other up in the country where his
home is gives his occupation as farmer.

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For those who cannot come to the polls,
an absentee ballot is provided, and the

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voting is supervised by the local notary.

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This is the same kind of ballot that in
this wartime election is sent to members

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of the armed forces at home and abroad.

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These ballots are returned to be
counted in their respective states.

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Here in Riveton, the line grows longer.
The citizens are following the

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constitutional provision, and elections
are held on schedule, rain or shine,

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panic or prosperity, peace or war.

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That chalk on his sleeve was part of
yesterday's history lesson when Mrs. Dawson

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reminded her pupils of two
other memorable elections.

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In 1864, with a nation in the throes of
a civil war, Abraham Lincoln, one of

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America's greatest presidents,
was opposed in a bitter

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campaign by one of his own generals.

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The people chose to reelect Mr. Lincoln.

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In 1916, during the First World War,
an election was held, and

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now again in 1944.

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Early in the summer,
nominating conventions are held.

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At these traditionally noisy political
jamborees, the chosen delegates of each

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major party meet to select a candidate
for the presidency and the vice

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presidency of the United States.

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Now the candidates have been chosen.

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And the campaign is on,
from president to local sheriff.

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For three months, all through the late
summer and fall, wherever people come

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together,
issues and men are discussed and argued about.

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Some feel that this isn't altogether
a good thing, that a lot of time

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and energy are wasted this way.

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It may be, but that's the way Americans
like to do it. They like to feel

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everybody has a right to speak and
is interested enough to do it.

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Even the small fryer.
Every attempt is made by all

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parties to influence the people's thinking.

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All over the country, week

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after week, 140 million citizens
take part in the great debate.

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Business, professional and civic groups
endorse one candidate or the other.

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For the first time in American history,
organized labor takes

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an active part in the campaign.

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Radio plays a greater role than ever.
The time on the air is paid for by all

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parties and distributed evenly among them,
giving the party in

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office no advantage over its opponents.

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It is estimated that in the last days of
the 1944 campaign, 70 million Americans

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heard the speeches of the various candidates.

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Now all that is over, the heat and excitement.
The votes are

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cast and Americans have agreed
to accept the will of the

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majority, whatever it may be.

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Apparently even the younger
generation has declared peace.

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Now the election board begins its last duty,
the counting of the votes.

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The figures are checked and double checked.

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Then there are telephoned headquarters.

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Hello, this is Mrs.
Dawson, 7th Precinct. Ready to report.

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From coast to coast, precinct by precinct,
city by city, state by

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state. The results are recorded.

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All over America tonight, the people are
waiting to learn whom they have chosen

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to govern them for the next four years.

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Towards midnight,
the final results are announced.

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The nation of 140 million
has elected a government.

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Thank you.